AN ANCIENT COIN seems to have been found in someone's grocery change in South Carolina. This according to WLTX.com:

Woman Finds Potentially Ancient Coin In Grocery Change


(Sumter) When the coins come out of the cash drawer, they all sound the same. And when Lynn Moore picked up her change and walked out of a Sumter Bi-Lo last November, she had no reason to believe her coins were any different.

Boy, was she wrong.

“It's definitely not a penny," said Lynn.

It wasn't until she emptied her change that she noticed.

“I threw it in a vase right next to my kitchen table," said Lynn. She continued, "I dumped it out into my hand and noticed that one coin was very odd looking."

For 10 months, she kept it to herself. Then, Ken Lyles saw it. Ken has collected and studied coins for 50 years, and says this one is definitely not American.

“My research on it would tell me that it (was made in) approximately 132 to 135 A.D."

Mr. Lyles says the shape, uneven edges, and weight of the coin means it definitely pre-dates modern mints. According to his reference books, the coin is from ancient Hebrew society.

[...]

I'm not a numismatist, but it sounds like Mr. Lyles thinks it's a coin from the Bar Kokhba Revolt. The photograph is dreadful. The letters look like they might be Hebrew, but I can't make out what the inscription says. Would any coin experts out there like to comment?

UPDATE (6 September): Ian Werrett wrote to suggest that the coin is a fake:

In particular, the dots around the border and the vine leaf are far too pronounced to be the genuine article. Furthermore, the edge of the coin, with its rounded edge that is free from any obvious dings or dents, has a very similar look to those coins that have been produced by modern companies in order to be sold as souvenirs in Jerusalem and elsewhere.

Then in a later message he found the coin on this website with a clear picture showing that the Hebrew script is modern. The web page owner, David Garstang, notes:

There is no question that these are NOT real ancient coins. The only question is whether they were created with intent to fool collectors or as some sort of commemorative token. I suspect the latter, because the script is such an obvious giveaway to anyone with much experience.

BEWARE!!! There are many of these coins (most in the lighter brass-colored metal) floating around, and they are turning up as "sucker bait" on web auction sites. One fellow asked me (and others) for help in authenticating one of these. I told him that, though I was not an expert, I knew it was not authentic. It then came up for auction, with the fellow claiming, you guessed it, "I know nothing about this coin, but someone says it might be a Bar Kochba".

Bottom line: it's a modern fake. It sounds as though copies of it are circulating widely.